More help needed to defeat Boko Haram, rebuild, summit told

ABUJA: Regional and Western powers were on Saturday urged to do more to stop the threat from Boko Haram, as the UN voiced concern about the militants’ ties to the Islamic State group and threat to African security. Nigeria invited leaders of its neighbors Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger to Abuja, whose troops will be deployed as part of a much-delayed 8,500-member regional force to combat the Islamists. But delegates — including French President Francois Hollande — were told that despite major gains since the last security summit two years ago in Paris, more needed to be done to eradicate Boko Haram and tackle the root causes of extremism.